9 comments:

that last illustration reminds me of dubuffet. I wonder what a chain children's book buyer would make of it. We keep being told that a Ben Shahn illus. of 3 kids playing the harmonica is "too scary"—but it's nothing compared to this!

Is this because book buyers assume (rightly) that parents are afraid their kids will want to play the harmonica?! (In this scenario, violins and kazoos would need to be blacked out to assure publication.)

The mention of pre-WWII German "chauvinistic" children's books made me think that someone should be studying current chauvinistic children's books -- you know they must be out there in abundance. I don't have the stomach to do it myself.

any idea if the brecht text is available in english, i don't know what's scarier, grosz illustrating a kids book, or brecht writing one... unfortunately, it seems the perfect moment for someone to publish an english translation...!

hey will, thanks much for posting the ewen quotes about the book, sounds incredible!!!! i can't believe someone hasn't tried to reprint it in english. certainly up there with the most horrific kid's books ever written. great stuff!

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I started "A Journey Round My Skull" in 2007 and killed it off in February 2011, transferring most of the archives to a shiny new site, "50 Watts." In December 2011, I revived My Skull as a personal blog.